May Moves to Appease Voter Anger With Public-Sector Pay Raise
- Police and prison officers are first to benefit from increase
- Hammond blamed election result partly on austerity policies
City of London Police officer stand on London Bridge as commuters walk past, following Saturday night's terror attack, in London, U.K., on Monday, June 5, 2017. Police are stepping up drills and security on the streets as the challenge facing them continues to shift.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergU.K. Prime Minister Theresa May moved to appease voter anger by announcing that the cap on public-sector pay rises in place since 2011 was to be eased, with police and prison officers the first to benefit.
Police will get a 2 percent rise in their pay this year, and prison officers will get a 1.7 percent rise. The Conservative government froze public sector pay for two years from 2011 to 2012, and since then increases have been limited to 1 percent, or well below inflation that hit 2.9 percent in August.